Summaries

•In this article we analyze the therapy course of a client with a borderline personality disorder. We mainly focus on problems in her relational functioning, which also appear recurrently in the therapeutic contact. Continued exploring and working through these difficulties with an authentic and reliable therapist, has a de-mining effect: client’s frustrated relational needs are recognized and satisfied and she succeeds in developing a more adaptive interaction style. By means of the Leuven Systematic Case-study Protocol ( LSCP ) the therapy course is systematically screened and, if necessary, redirected. Although such an approach is time-intensive and demands an extra mental effort of both parties, the therapeutic profit is large: it helps both the client and the therapist to enter the mine field with relative peace, security and predictability. …